Ambassador Irena Ganchev of Bulgaria in Pakistan has invited an extensive trade delegation from Pakistan to visit Bulgaria to explore the possibilities for bilateral trade growth; encourage joint ventures, and build mutually beneficial chamber-to-chamber links between FPCCI/Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce & Industry… (BCCI). During her visit to the FPCCI Head Office at Karachi’s Federation House, she was speaking. Immediate visa processing for Pakistani representatives of Pakistan’s business and industry community has been offered by H.E. Irena Gancheva in order to facilitate business and personal interactions. For Pakistan, she argued, Bulgaria is the cheapest and most convenient gateway to Europe because of its proximity to Pakistan and its proximity to the EU. Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Pakistan also urged Pakistani textile exporters to take advantage of the GSP Plus tariff concessions and export to Bulgaria. In addition, the Bulgarian government has eased numerous laws that were previously in place, making Bulgaria a business-friendly country, according to her. Please note that the Pakistani Trade Delegation to Bulgaria will be headed by FPCCI President, Mr. Irfan Iqbal Sheikh. As a result of the delegation, he believes Pakistan-Bulgaria commercial ties will enter a new age and the entire potential of commerce between the two nations will be unleashed. The Senior Vice President of FPCCI, Mr. Suleman Chawla, expressed his gratitude to the ambassador for making the trip to Pakistan’s highest chamber, FPCCI, to meet with him. To ensure their relevance and ability to contribute constructively, FPCCI will recommend businessmen for the trade mission to Bulgaria following a thorough screening process. For this reason, as FPCCI VP Shaukat Omerson insisted, the honorable ambassador promised to convey the demand of the Bulgarian government in order to open an office in Karachi for visa processing. Traveling from Islamabad would be time-consuming as well as counterproductive to FPCCI’s awareness-raising and interest-raising efforts.